Been a while

There's been plenty of stuff going on around here. Plenty of stuff, but not plenty of time to sit down in front of the trusty ol' laptop. So now a little recap.

I'll start with my personal favorite of the past week...

I usually get home well after everyone else in the house is deeply involved in R.E.M. sleep. Not the band, the rapid eye movement...slobber on the pillow thing. Which sucks, but that wasn't the worst thing about coming home to a sleeping house on Monday night. Oh no. I made it home in record time, in a pretty good mood, after a pretty good day in corporate America. However, when I pulled in the driveway I saw a stream of water pouring out from under the garage door, all the way to the street, down the street into the drainage. MOTHER-BLEEP! I knew what it was, but I didn't want to know what it was. Part of me wanted to just go upstairs and go to bed. Then the adult part of me kicked in and the insanity began. Just as I thought, when I got inside the garage, the water heater was spewing water like some kind of over-sized maniacal lawn sprinkler. The garage floor was filled with an inch or so of water. Awesome. Good thing we left so much stuff in cardboard boxes right in the flood plain! (That's sarcasm folks). The good news is, I was smart enough in my teens and early twenties to bag and board all my thousands and thousands of comic books...so they are safe. Yearbooks, some honeymoon pictures, assorted knicknackery....not so much. The best news is that the water heater was under warranty so all we had to pay for was for the install. Phew. So there's that story.

What's next? Oh yeah the boys had their Valentine's Day party at school on Friday. The day before, we went to Wally World and they picked out their cards. Jake chose a Marvel Comics theme, and Brady went with Power Rangers. Perfect. Nothing says, "I love you...but not in that way", quite like a superhero valentine. The party was quite a hit as usual. The boys made the most hideous bowls of ice cream I have ever seen. Seriously the first time in my life I have seen so many delicious things combine to make something I would never eat. But of course they loved it. After the sugar high kicked in, they made some wacky picture frames, distributed their valentines, sang songs, and played like madmen. Being able to spend the whole day at school with them is where working second shift really pays off. Just awesome.

So much love and KAPOWW!'s to share.

Once again, the only reason I get out of bed in the morning.

Jake's picture frame. Awww...

Brady's picture frame. Uhhh. I mean awww.

Brady's bowl. BLECCHH!

Jake's bowl. Double BLECCHH!!

...and one faw you, and one faw you...

Tonight, the boys got to cash in (literally) on their valentine's present from Poppy and Ma. We went to Build-a-Bear, and Jake made a monkey he named "Bobo" and Brady made a Dinosaur he named "Rhino". Rhino the Dino...the kid cracks me up.

Bobo and Rhino

So now the boys are fast asleep with their new buddies tucked in right next to them. I am about to go tuck in next to my rockin' wife, and watch some cheesy Lifetime movie she's fully enveloped in. Its 47 degrees outside. The house smells like chili. The garage is dry. There is a pitcher of Kool-Aid with splenda calling my name in the fridge. I know it's not a perfect life...but it's perfect enough for me.